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Australia will no longer refer to Jerusalem as ‘occupied’

Australia will no longer describe east Jerusalem as "occupied" territory, the country’s attorney-general told the Senate on Thursday, signaling a significant policy shift welcomed in Israel.

"The description of east Jerusalem as ‘Occupied East Jerusalem’ is a term freighted with pejorative implications, which is neither appropriate nor useful," George Brandis said, reading out a statement written following a conversation with Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

"It should not and will not be the practice of the Australian Government to describe areas of negotiations in such judgmental language," he said.

Brandis said the description of areas which are the subject of negotiations by reference to historical events was "unhelpful."

He added that Australia supported a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that "recognizes the right of Israel to exist peacefully within secure borders and also recognizes the aspiration to statehood of the Palestinian people."

The comments came following a heated debate Wednesday evening in the Senate, where Brandis took issue when a Greens Party senator referred to "occupied east Jerusalem." Brandis said this language pre-judged matters still under negotiations.

One Israeli diplomatic official applauded the move, saying "the sound of wisdom comes from Australia."

"Let’s hope this sturdy common sense view propagates itself to other continents, though given the situation of international relations I wouldn’t hold my breath," he said. "Speaking wisdom aloud is very dangerous in international relations."

In January, Bishop – during a short visit to attend Ariel Sharon’s funeral – took issue with those calling the settlements illegal. Indeed, Australia now refrains from using the term "illegal" to refer to settlements. Canberra also does not refer to the West Bank as "occupied" territory, but rather "disputed" territory.

Although the European Union routinely states that the settlements are "illegal," the US – which is adamantly opposed to Israel’s settlement policy – refrains from using that term, now generally calling them "illegitimate" or "unhelpful."

Last month Palestinian negotiator Sa’eb Erekat wrote Bishop slamming Australia’s ambassador to Israel, David Sharma, for meeting Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel in his east Jerusalem office. Erekat said the meeting had the "effect of attempting to legitimize the illegal situation on the ground and may be deemed as aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting illegal Israeli policies."

Canberra simply ignored the protest.

Australia’s policy shift on the settlements began soon after the election victory in September of Tony Abbott’s Liberal-National coalition over Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party.

In November the new government abstained on two anti-Israel resolutions at the UN — one to end all settlement activities, and another calling for compliance with the Geneva Convention — signaling that it would no longer reflexively vote against Israel on settlement-related votes.